Sunday Homilies

from Father Kevin Laughery, Troy St. Jerome and St. Jacob St. James Parishes, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Note: Comments from this page do not reach me; instead, email: kl@kevinlaughery.com

The Podcasts

This feast also happens to be our parish feast day. Consider the inconsistency: The people of Israel were not to make a golden calf, but Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent.
Direct download: KML_2008-09-14_1015am.MP3
Category:Sunday Homilies -- posted at: 1:28pm CDT

I did not preach this past weekend because of the presence of a visiting priest.

I did participate in an interfaith service commemorating the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois, on Saturday, September 6, in the Hall of Representatives of the Old State Capitol, Springfield.  I gave the welcome; here are my remarks:

Welcome to a place which people call "historic."

We can think of the time when this was the lawmaking center for the entire state, and when a man of this city grappled with our nation's prospect of becoming "a house divided."

We can recall that the body of this slain President was viewed here by the people for the last time.

Later, this place became this county's seat for seeking, but not always finding, justice.

Today we remember justice denied and justice miscarried here.

And we remember what "history" means.

History is not a charming tale that we contemplate from a distance.

For as surely as we are in this place, we are history, whether we want to be or not.

So today we turn from the expression "You're history," as meaning that one is over and done with, and embrace instead the identity of ourselves as history, as the cause of a just and loving future, as people whose repentance, conversion and dedication build a future worthy of the dignity of human beings.

Category:Sunday Homilies -- posted at: 11:18am CDT

The calendar cycles have aligned ... to provide a recollection of what I was doing 33 years ago, the weekend I entered the seminary. It is amazing how the very Scriptures I read at my last Mass at home have grown in significance -- especially Paul's instruction to "be transformed by the renewal of your mind."
Direct download: KML_2008-08-31_1015am.MP3
Category:Sunday Homilies -- posted at: 1:56pm CDT

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 24, 2008 We are all familiar with abuses of authority. Christians are called to a counter-intuitive sort of authority, modeled for us in Jesus himself, who came among us as one who serves.
Direct download: KML_2008-08-24_1015am.MP3
Category:Sunday Homilies -- posted at: 1:49pm CDT

I'm having difficulties uploading files from my recording device.  I hope to resolve this by Sep. 14 (next time I preach on a weekend).
Category:Sunday Homilies -- posted at: 4:57pm CDT